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Cory's Corner: Packers' defense has found out how to win

The Packers defense has heard the criticism. Ever since Aaron Rodgers’ collarbone injury Oct. 15, the defense has been exposed with inconsistent play.

“To continuously hear how much we’re not showing up, I think we just showed up today,” said defensive tackle Mike Daniels, who got the pass rush started with the Packers first sack on Mitchell Trubisky. “And that was a tough offensive front that we did it against.”

Of course it’s easy to write this 23-16 win off because the Bears, are well, the Bears. It’s a team that is still trying to figure out who they are and the Packers defense played their most complete game since shutting the Seahawks down in the season opener.

“I think everybody did a good job with staying in their lanes, doing their job, creating pressure on the quarterback — as well on the back end covering guys up,” said linebacker Nick Perry, who tallied three sacks. “And it was just complete football by the defense.”

That was the first time Perry has tallied over two sacks in the regular season as he plays through his sixth season.

Is this unit finally starting to buy in? Instead of playing like 11 individuals, they are figuring out that defense is much better if they can rely on each other. The guys up front mask problems in the back end and vice versa. Perry got the stats because he is supposed to in the 3-4.

Defensive coordinator Dom Capers did a good job of keeping Trubisky off-balance by calling everything from Cover-2 to various blitzes. And that’s why the Packers sacked him five times — a huge number considering Green Bay only had 13 sacks through the first eight weeks.

And the defense rounded it off by stopping Jordan Howard, who came into Sunday’s game averaging 102 rushing yards over his last four games. The Packers bottled him up to the tune of 54 yards on 15 carries.

“These are the type of games that you live for,” Daniels said. “The weather was excellent. Overcast skies, it was raining. The grass was tore up. And it was just ground and pounding, that’s essentially what football comes down to. It was definitely fun to play in this type of game.”

The Packers had lost three straight and many had written them off. In fact many have even said that they should tank in order to get a top 10 draft pick.

But what Sunday showed me was that the Packers are capable of going 5-2 the rest of the way. A 10-6 record will push for a wildcard berth if Minnesota continues to play well on offense, which means the Vikings will win the NFC North.

“This one feels great, to end the streak to get some momentum rolling,” Perry said. “We got some tough opponents to come and I think we’re off to a great start right now.”

There’s something to be said about playing as a team. The Packers were desperate for a win and earned it with unselfishness.

This season isn’t over yet folks, because the defense has uncovered the winning road map.

Play the woeful Bears offense and hold them to their season average of 16 points per game (thanks to a stupid John Fox challenge).

But the Packers have dominated the Bears offense the entire time Dom Capers has been in Green Bay. Nothing has changed.

And if the Pack somehow backs into the playoffs as a WC team, the D will perform up to its usual standards, MM will declare Dom to be a great coach after the loss, and we can look forward to more of the same in 2018.

The Steelers had to have a come back to beat the Colts. The Panthers haven't been great all year. They lost 17-3 against the Bears 2 weeks ago. Vikings while have been winning they have a tough schedule moving forward.

I thought the Packers took a big step in the right direction Sunday. They needed something to build some confidence. Basically going 0-3 since Rodgers got hurt. Sunday they finally got that monkey off their back. While the game wasn't perfect, the conditions in the game were anything but and they were able to find a way to win. They should now have a lot more confidence going against a Ravens team that hasn't been good.

5-2? Let's not get ahead of ourselves. They beat the Bears in a game the Bears played atrociously. Previously, they got run out of Lambeau by NO and Det by 9 and 13 respectively...in games that were probably not as close as the final score indicated.

I'll take 3-4. Just beat the teams with losing records. Maybe sneak out a win in one of the other 4...if everything falls into place and they get very fortunate.

I'm not saying they will go 5-2. Just saying its a possibility. They finally got something positive to build on since Rodgers went out. Hundley has shown improvements each game he has played. His 4th quarter against the Bears was perfect. 158.3.
Hundley is now making plays downfield more and is starting to show what most of us thought he could do. He just needs the experience. Now we just need to see him playing more consistently throughout the whole game.

New Orleans is probably the hottest team in football right now. They are probably the most explosive offense and have a better then advertised offense.
Yes the Packers lost to them by 9 points. But they also held the Saints to 26 points and they average 29 points a game. Also the game was closer then that until about 5 minutes left in the game. Not really a blow out.
The Lions game was bad, no question.

Anything from 0-7 to 7-0 is a possibility. When you change to "probability" that gap narrows significantly.

A win sure beats a loss every week. And Hundley looked good against (arguably) the best defense he's faced as a starter (Minny is the best he's faced). But it IS about consistency, not the last result. And so far, Hundley has been consistently bad with a positive last result. If he can stack some more success on what he's done, we may re-visit the probability calculations. But for right now, that's all theoretical. He's got Baltimore up next. Let's see him do it twice before we start talking about possibly doing it 5 times.

Honestly it could go any way. I don't believe they will go 0-7, but don't believe they will go 7-0 either. But we don't know what will happen, and thats what makes it fun watching each week.

What I do know, is Hundley just got his first win as a starting NFL QB. He made clutch plays in the 4th quarter to make sure of the win. He has progressed each week and I hope to see more this week as well.

Baltimore will be a tough test as they are coming off the bye week. But they are not the Baltimore team of old. Flacco has struggled all season and they can be beat.

"But we don't know what will happen, and thats what makes it fun watching each week."

Definitely agree with this. I'm not worried about the playoffs so I can watch with only the expectation that I will get about 3 hours of Packer football. I'm not upset about Aaron Jones getting hurt, I'm excited to see them find a short-yardage RB in Jamaal Williams.

I thought he played much better in the first 3 quarters against the Bears then he did in the first 3 quarters against the Lions.

Also you have to factor in the weather. They were playing in tough conditions against the Bears.
To me its about consistency.

The Packers first drive resulted in a FG. They had a good drive but stalled out.
Their 2nd drive ended with a 3rd and 1 where they rushed Montgomery and got stuffed.

Their 3rd drive resulted in a TD.

Their 4th drive ended in a 3 and out in which Hundley got sacked on a 3rd and 2 play.

In the 2nd half.

Their first drive ended with a FG.

Their 2nd drive they were driving but ended in a sack on 3rd down.

Their 3rd drive resulted in a FG.

Their 4th drive was the TD to Adams.

Their 4th drive Hundley hits the bomb to Adams and set them up at the 20. Then they missed the FG.

Overall Hundley played well. By far his best game overall. A few break downs during the game though cost them of extending drives. Also the Bears do have a good defense.
Hundley overcame the rain and his hurt hamstring and helped the team get the win.

I'm with you. we do not know how it will end, but I see some light in this darkness.

Yes, every game Brett plays better. From Minnesota to Saints. D did not play well against LIons, but O was little bit better, not by result, but by eye... And Chicago game was the best till now for team as well for Brett...

Lets trhink about next first... Packers have Baltimore up and down team...

No, we really don't know what is going to happen. So why not enjoy it when good things happen.

I have seen improvements made from Brett for sure. Each game he gets more comfortable and more confident.
He needs to work on consistency, but he is making big time throws now that he didn't a few weeks ago.

Baltimore is next and like you said they have been an up and down team. Flacco has been a shell of himself. His QB rating is the worst its been in his career, he has more interceptions then td's, and has fumbled 5 times this year.

You're right...we need to qualify their win against Chicago. I think a run-first team like the Bears with a rookie QB who is still learning how to read defenses is exactly what the doctor ordered for this defense, and they still gave up a bucketful of yards. Pass-first teams, or QB-driven teams, will give this defense as it is fits. In the end, I really only care what the final score looks like: bend-but-don't-break works fine for me and I don't believe in style points.

The schedule-makers are doing the Packers a bit of a favor as Baltimore will be the next step up: better WR but Flacco has been iffy. They use their RB a lot in their passing game. This is a team the defense should be able to hold down enough to give the offense a chance, and I think Brooks being back on the field is a little bit of a boost. Baltimore is pretty good defensively, but we'll see what they do on grass on the road.

The defense hasn't figured out bupkus. The Bears offense is just that bad. The personnel on this defense is young and inconsistent, and it needs a talent upgrade at OLB and CB2. DL, ILB, FS, SS and CB1 when King grows should be fine to great.

The communication and coaching though? That's not going to get better. We ALL know that any time this defense plays against a halfway decent QB, it's going to get shredded.

We have to go 3-1 in the next 4 and hope that ARod is back to score 35/game by week 15. And that the Vikings stumble down the stretch. Winning the NFCN as the 4 seed. That's our only path to the playoffs.

And even if that happens, it's just not very likely that we can outscore complete teams with good/great QBs in the playoffs.

Packers did a great job of stopping the Bears run game down. Bears are the 9th ranked rush offense in the league averaging 121.6 yards per game. Jordan Howard is the 5th leading rusher in the league with 716 rushing yards and 4.0 yards per carry. The Packers held Howard to 54 rushing yards on 15 carries or 3.6 yards per carry.

According to you, we need to go 3-1 in the next 4. Our next 4 games are Ravesn, at Steelers, Buccaneers, at Browns. I would say that is do able against those 4 teams. (not saying it will happen, just saying it could happen).
While the Vikings next 4 games are against the Rams, at Lions, at Falcons, at Panthers. They could easily go anywhere from 0-4 to 2-2 in that stretch.

I have no idea what will or won't happen. But if Rodgers is able to come back, no matter how slim of a chance it is, I want to be in position to go for it in the playoffs. We felt really good about the team before Rodgers injury. Well if he can come back, I can't think of anything that could give the team a bigger boost then to get Rodgers back late in the year.

You are right that it could happen. Where you are not right is that not everyone felt good about the team before ARod's injury. The same problems we have is what we've had since 2011 in Capers defense. And the personnel is more than good enough to be average or better. That's on coaching.

But even with ARod, this is not a super bowl team with the current defensive coaching staff and personnel combination. The personnel is ok - but not good enough to overcome the same tired stunts and miscommunication errors in the secondary.

Compared to tanking, I'd rather have the #4 seed and a playoff game. But not if that means we have ANOTHER year with TT and Dom Capers.

Most people liked where the team was prior to the injury. Were there questions, yes there were. But after the Cowboys game who wasn't excited about this team?

With Rodgers this is a super bowl team every year. He gives them a chance every year. The rest of the team, no, but with Rodgers yes it is. He is that good. He just needs a little help along the way.

Even if they were to lose every game the rest of this year I doubt Thompson goes anywhere. He has a contract basically till after next years draft and Murphy has said that not matter what happens Thompson will finish out his contract.
Capers, I think will be done either way in Green Bay.

With Rodgers, I will take my chances in the playoffs each and every year.

I hope you are right about Capers. I'd rather be rid of TT now. IF we get to the playoffs, I fully expect another heartbreaking loss. The defense just isn't good enough to support ARod. Not when he is playing against a good defensive team himself.

I'm so stumped I don't even know what to say. You think our defense has figured it out? And that we're going 5-2 the rest of the way....?

Would you like to bet $3,000.00 the Packers don't go 5-2 and the Packers remain a bottom 10 defense?

I'm just curious, which statistics are you basing your blog off of? Is it the Packers being the 23rd ranked defense? Or 19th ranked passing defense? or 17th ranked rush defense? Which one of those statistics is leading you to believe they have "uncovered the winning roadmap?".... yikes.

Is this the same writer who claimed Damarious Randall would be our Chris Harris Jr...? Kinda feels like that much of a stretch. But for real, I'll give you my phone number, please text/call and let's put money on this.

You can disagree in a much nicer way than this. I tend to agree: Chicago was averaging just over 16 points/game (28th) and we held them to 16 points (plus whatever one thinks is appropriate for the fumble/touchback). They were 29th in yards/game, about 291 yards/game, and we allowed considerably more.

It does seem like bloggers should at least watch a game before writing about it, we HELD the bears to 16?

I did not see that game, I saw us give up 16 to a terrible team with a QB who generally could not see open receivers and then who gave up a great chance to get 7 more.....total 23 by a challenge for packer history

I saw RANDALL get burnt badly with 5 minutes last .. down the middle... letting a WR blow right past him for an easy TD except the ball was over thrown....no mention of that in dallas and no mention of that here

so the reality is we played a really bad offense, with major league decision making problems and got bailed out by the bad challenge for all time and an over throw of an easy completion over a terrible db

BPEARSON21, Do you think you get that Bet Even Up?? Right now that's a 25 -1 or more. If they lose Sunday, it goes to 50-1 or more. If they Win Sunday, it probably drops to 20 -1 or more. Are you ready to lay those odds?? I might take some of that.
LVT

Jeez Cory,
I love your enthusiasm, but it was Da Bears, with a rookie QB!
I'll feel better when I see a few more stops on 3rd and 8 or 3rd and 13. For right now that kinda' seems like exactly where other team(s) want to be, almost a sure 1st down with the DBs playing 9 -10 yards off the LOS and nobody watching the slant across the middle.
Gotta fire Capers,

Winning always makes the week ahead a little brighter (even during the Daylight Saving Time of November)
Division wins are tough no matter who it is. Kudos to the Packers team for overcoming the "Marty Bennett distraction" coming together and not tanking it, that is never a good thing as losing can become a bad habit and one that is hard to break. There are still a few leaks in the boat that need to be corrected if the Pack is going to make a run at this:
1. Get the field goal trio in sync! Can't afford to give away points.
2. Stop the rash of Special Teams penalties! Field position is critical especially without #12 to bail them out.
3. Commit to the running game! Gotta pound the rock in Nov-Dec. to set up play action. Hundley is included here (with a hopefully healthy hamstring) He has to learn to take those 10-15 yard runs and then get the heck out of bounds.
4. Hundley has to get the ball out "quicker", the opposing Defensive backs have to be licking their chops as Hundley stares down and throws a second too late sometimes. Trust your guys Brett and get the ball out!
5. Get Trevor Davis more involved in the WR screen game! This dude has a jet in his butt and a few well placed WR screens with him could pay huge dividends!
6. Bring up Joe Kerrage from the PS. This dude is a physical beast as a lead blocker, pass protecter, extra blocking Tight End and special teams wrecking ball. We like Joe!
7. Use more "base defense"! In Nov-Dec this works better on a slower track and the Blake & Jake show is the Packers best chance to play the type of physical "stop the run" game that is going to be needed.

1. I am curious to see if they bring back Goode as their long snapper. I believe he can come back this week.

2. They lost a lot of yards on stupid penalties. I still don't know when players will understand that if you see a players name on the back of their jersey, to not block them.

3. Packers ran for 160 yards against the Bears who were ranked 10th going into the Packers game.

4. I thought Hundley was looking better and getting the ball out faster. He does have lapses at times, but I thought he did better against the Bears then the previous 3 games. He is starting to look more and more comfortable and getting more success will boost his confidence.

5. I'd love to see Davis on a bubble screen. Even use Janis on a jet sweep or reverse. What I like about Janis on those types of plays is that he runs with power along with speed.

6. I have a feeling Kerridge will be brought up with the injury to Jones and Montgomery. Also with only 2 TE's, they could use him.

7. The base defense is pretty good. But they have to match up with what offenses are doing. Therefore more sub packages are used.

5. I don't understand the coaching staff's desire to play Davis. IMO, the guy is strictly a returner on the NFL level and is wholly replaceable. I would argue that if they're looking for a gimmicky player, the guy they want is #83. At least he's shown in actual NFL games that he can periodically do something on the offensive side of the ball. He's not a savior, but he can make something happen.

6. I have a feeling that we'll see shades of 2016 and the Packers will go into the Ravens game with just Williams, Mays, Rip, and Cobb as potential backfield ball-carriers. Depends on how many weeks Monty might be out (I haven't heard, yet).

Mich Trubisky threw for more yards than any other 2 games combined so far. Yes he's going to get better as the season goes on, but I bet he doesn't sniff 297 in his next game. A win is a win. And it was extra nice because it was against the bears, after finally taking the lead in the series earlier this year. But maybe beat someone a little better than the bears and their highly inexperienced (even for a rookie) qb before we talk about this defense finally having figured it out. If he can go for 297, Flacco can go for 400 in his worst year.

Take the win but don't try to make it more than it was...
like shaking a flashlight to get a flicker of light. Unless this win actually charged the batteries which will be evident next week,that's all you'll get...flickers in a couple more wins and flickers in losses to keep hope alive.

Trubisky had more passing yards because the ground game was going nowhere for the Bears. The Pack didn't play great defense, but in this era where the offense gets the advantage, it was acceptable. I too, would like to see Janis at least returning kick offs. He's got plenty of speed and way stronger than Davis. I hope this game gives Hundley the confidence to let it rip when he sees it. It seemed like as the game wore on, he showed much more confidence.

If its that easy, why haven't other teams done that against the Bears?
Perhaps teams will do it more now, but why haven't they already.

The Bears are the 9th rated rushing team in the league. They average 121 rushing yards a game. Packers held them to not even half of that.

Howard is the 5th leading rusher and he only had 55 yards rushing on 15 carries. And he also had 1 long run of 25 yards. So if you take away his long run of 25 yards, his other 14 carries went for 30 yards.

Green Bay can defend the run whenever it wants to. Clark and Daniels are beasts. I thought Montravious Adams looked powerful and quick, and we've seen some improvement from Lowry lately. Using Martinez and Ryan helps against the run. We played a lot of 3-4 early, then actually moved to pyscho playing a 1-5-5 later in the game. I still think Brooks is going to more than earn his pay and that our best lineup is Perry and Brooks at OLB with CM3 rotating in and also playing a fair amount of ILB.

We still have a lot of trouble defending the pass. Chicago's WRs consist of a #2, a #3/4 and a #4. The TD pass House gave up was due to him playing tendencies: he didn't think Trubisky would go deep and bit on the first move, and couldn't recover, possibly due to his hamstring.

The defense played better. But the sacks were against a rookie quarterback who took too long to get passes off. It won't be so easy against a veteran quarterback, let alone a good one like Bradford, Breise or Prescott. We still need Adams and Biegel to step up and add some help.

The defense gave up 350 yards of offense to the bears...the bears...come on....a rookie QB...Matt Stafford TORCHED ..Dom Capers..Matthew Stafford said he knew everything the packers defense was doing. Come on ..thr Packers almost LOST this game.

He had a little owie in pre-season and he has been wasting a roster spot all season?

Please, get his azz on the field and get some penetration and disruption or put him on IR and bring up Kerridge or any other warm body.

Jeff Janis... sighhhh.... What in the world is the problem here?

At this point of this young mans career I have to start looking at Mashed Potato Mike and say that he has failed this young man. It was MPM who wasted an entire season without a WR coach when the young man desperately needed one.
Janis has size, speed and strength. He also displays that he has desire as evidenced by his stellar ST play.

Cmon man, give this kid a chance, coach the dumb outta him and get the ball in his hands for chrissake!

I have seen all I ever want to see of Geronimo Allison and Trevor Davis as WR. Time to actually give Janis a real shot. I hate to say it, but Jordy is a JAG without ARod tossing the rock to him. Might be time to kick start the offense by taking Jordy out of some packages and getting more speed on the field so Hundley isnt playing with 10 on O.

On that note, when Monty is healthy, it seems like it would be better for this offense if he took Cobbs snaps at slot receiver. Cobb doesnt get separation and is molasses slow. Time to give Hundley a fighting chance in the passing game.

Janis is done and waiting to get out of town. They took him off kick offs. No chance he'll get out of the dog House. TE- I don't agree on Hendricks. I'm still going to say this position is in Trouble. I prefer Rodgers short.

Cory - before we put the Packers in the playoffs let's beat the Ravens first.

The Packers have a ridiculous habit of making unheard of QBs look like Joe Montana and/or of reviving the seasons or careers of downhill QBs (e.g., Sam Bradford).
My point is that I would not be surprised if the Packers defense saves Joe Flacco's poor season and makes him look like the return of Johnny U.

As for figuring out the winning formula, can this defense consistently get off the field without allowing the opponent to score first? Against the Bears it's easy to figure out. Stop the run game, which the Packers did effectively and make Trubisky beat you which he almost did with nearly 300 yards passing for the first time in his career (how often have we heard that before?!). And Trubisky is not exactly throwing to HOF receivers either.

The Packers defense still needs the offense to play well, score points and chew up the clock. Our best defense is our offense keeping our defense off the field. If our OL can play well and get the ground going especially with the colder weather coming on and Hundley does not commit turnovers and we stop leaving yards and points on the field we may have a chance to get to 8-5 by the time we play Carolina on the road. Of course, there is the possibility that our Special Teams will blow a game or the season for us because they can't manage a snap and hold on a FG or they have no clue when or how to return punts and kickoffs. (Another coaching issue!!!?)

By the Carolina game we may have AR back which gives us a chance in every game including the playoffs. Unfortunately, I for one, still do not have confidence in our defense to measure up against good QBs and playoff offenses.

I agree, Capers must go. Im sure he was good in his day but the game seems to have passed him by. There is talent on this Defense.
Solution:
1. Keep it simple
2. Play fast/gang tackle
3. Wrap up, if you miss tackles you sit
4. Attack-Attack-Attack!
5. Play disciplined or you sit
6. Fire Capers!

Looking Ahead: 1. Punish the ball carrier. 2. Kill the QB. 3. Take out the team leader with a dirty hit. 4. Aim at the knees of the OL. 5. Hit the WRs when their not looking. 6. Strip the ball. ///Oh that's right were not playing the vikings yet.

The defense has to find a way to win for 7 more weeks. Consistency is the key, none of this mis communication shit, bad tackling BS, or blown coverages. If they can keep the Packers close they can win more of these last 7 than lose.

Quote

"I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious."